LGBT group disappointed with NCAA's response to discriminatory religious colleges

(REUTERS/LUCY NICHOLSON)A man waves an LGBT equality rainbow flag at a celebration rally in West Hollywood, California, United States, June 26, 2015.

Campus Pride, an educational organization for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) and ally college students, was "deeply disappointed" at the decision made by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to not comply with the organization's demands for the association to cut its ties with various Christian colleges that requested Title IX waivers from the Department of Education (DoED).

Earlier this month, Campus Pride sent a letter to the NCAA president, executive team, and board of governors and asked them to "divest from all religious campuses that have requested discriminatory Title IX waivers toward LGBTQ youth."

In a letter dated March 15, 2016, the NCAA responded by saying that "all schools send their requests for Title IX exemption waivers directly to the DoED's Office for Civil Rights (OCR)" and that they "do not play any role in making waiver decisions."

However, even though the association refused the request of Campus Pride, they did indicate that they recognize the importance of diversity and inclusion in collegiate sports and, at the same time, value the preservation of the institutional principles of its 1,100 member schools.

Campus Pride, in turn, expressed their disappointment with the decision of NCAA.

In a statement on the group's website, Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride, wrote, "We are deeply disappointed by the lack of leadership and responsibility demonstrated in the response to our letter. The NCAA is an organization with a stated commitment to fairness and inclusion of LGBTQ student athletes. Claiming that the Department of Education is to blame for the NCAA's inability to divest from discriminatory member institutions, instead of owning up to their complicity, is not the kind of leadership we should expect from the NCAA."

Title IX is a provision in the Education Amendments law of 1972 that prevents sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities of all private and public educational institutions.

During the Obama administration, the United States DoED extended the Title IX rights to LGBT students. This meant that colleges, particularly Christian institutions, would need to recognize LGBT rights on their premises.

According to Campus Pride, an exemption from Title IX would enable Christian colleges to discriminate against LGBTQ students in terms of student admission, as well as deny certain student rights to them.